Relocated NY Route 5 crosses Buffalo River on bascule lift bridge based on Johnson St. bridge in Victoria, BC
TF = Tifft-Fuhrmann Village: Several 10-12 story condo/ apt./hotel/motel buildings, to be designed, built, and operated as a private development on about 10 acres sold from Corridor
B = Bird Sculpture Park near Tifft Nature Preserve
S = ‘Ships Ashore’ static maritime display (tug and cut-away lake freighter)
The Shops: Stable, blacksmith, woodworking, ski/snowshoe rental, and Pub/Café/Lodge –location within Corridor TBD
Traffic removed from Skyway, which remains open to pedestrians, bicycles, and shuttle bus for the time
Most new uses in Corridorare park-oriented – exceptfor Tifft-Fuhrmann Village
NY Route 5 shifted eastward and connects to Tifft, South Park, I-190, and Exchange St.
being while its long-term use or removal is decided
Hannaway blacksmith shop image at far right from visitrhodeisland.com
Vis
ion
fo
r Sk
yway
Co
rrid
or
and
re
loca
ted
NY
Ro
ute
5 h
igh
way
Ships Ashore (S) – locations in red
Passenger/bicycle elevators up to repurposed Skyway
North end of relocated NY Route 5 and its intersection with Exchange Street
Bird Sculpture Park (B) and also Tifft-Fuhrmann Village (TF) with its buildings shown below in red, beyond which are
new Route 5 and its Tifft St. connection
Fuhrmann Blvd. is reduced to one traffic lane in each direction within the Corridor, extending as far north as the lighthouse and Coast Guard Station, and maintaining its connection to Ohio Street
Estimated costsConstruction of new NY Route 5 highway (see table at right) $350 millionLand acquisition for new highway (approx. offset by land sold from
Corridor, esp. downtown I-190 ramp parcel next to One SenecaTower and about 10 acres of land for Tifft-Fuhrmann Village) --
Bird Sculpture Park (e.g., 30 sculptures @ $100,000) $3 million“Ships Ashore” (unique project whose cost has not been determined) ?The Shops (stable, blacksmith, woodworking, ski rental, pub/café/lodge) $3 millionTransit shuttle Several millionPedestrian/bicycle elevators to Skyway from Canalside & Outer Harbor $1 million
Additional annual operating costs for shuttle and elevators: On the order of $1 million each
Economic benefitsWith its ongoing improvements and growing reputation, the Outer Harbor can reasonably expect to add an additional million, perhaps as many as two million, visitors per year. Applying an annual average of $17.50 per visitor based on Presque Isle (PA) tourism, such an increase in the number of Outer Harbor visitors would bring an additional $17.5 million, perhaps as much as $35 million, to the economy of the Buffalo area. While this type of spending is widely distributed (restaurants, motels, etc.), the entire amount strengthens the local economy, and the share returned as sales tax provides a more direct opportunity to pay a portion of the costs of highway relocation and new uses within the Corridor.
Tifft-Fuhrmann Village development, when designed, built, and operated as a private development of predominantly mid-rise buildings, will contribute directly to city, school, and county tax revenues. Its assessed full market value is not likely to exceed $100 million, corresponding to a taxable value of $64 million. At 2017-18 rates, assuming no tax incentives, a property with this taxable value would pay about $840,000 city tax, $865,000 school tax, and $410,000 county tax. The combined city and county shares, in the neighborhood of $1 million per year, provide some incentive and justification for the city and county to help cover the above costs.
Aside from Tifft-Fuhrmann Village development, the other new uses within the Corridor are not likely to generate meaningful near-term income that could help cover the above costs. Such new uses can be viewed as gradual additions that will be undertaken as grants or other funding become available. While all these new uses are intended to be popular features that draw more visitors (e.g., the hotel/motel within Tifft-Fuhrmann Village is well-situated to attract overnight stays by out-of-town visitors to the Outer Harbor), the various plans already in progress for the Outer Harbor are strong enough, in the interim, to succeed on their own.
The new uses envisioned here, in combination with the entire range of Outer Harbor plans, will not only attract additional out-of-town tourists but will contribute to the ongoing growth of city/county population and city/county land values. These are long-term economic benefits that will be realized in property and sales tax receipts and will also incentivize investment in a successful, growing community.
Economic benefits include new highway construction jobs, Tifft-Fuhrmann Village construction jobs, some longer-term employment at Tifft-Fuhrmann Village, etc.
New uses within the Corridor, undertaken as funding becomes available, will have positive economic impact by enhancing Outer Harbor tourism as well as city/county population growth & land values
NY Route 5 relocation cannot be funded in full by new uses within the Corridor; would require substantial federal/state highway funding
New uses within the Corridor are constrained by the very recent and park-oriented Outer Harbor plans
3. AFFORDABILITY AND FEASIBILITY
Economic benefits include construction jobs
Vis
ion
fo
r Sk
yway
Co
rrid
or
and
re
loca
ted
NY
Ro
ute
5 h
igh
way
New and existing highway alignments are very comparable:• Moving traffic off Skyway Corridor and onto new NY Route 5 alignment produces
only marginally greater driving distances and does not increase congestion – so driving times remain approximately the same
• Nearly all vehicles will shift to the new alignment with little incentive to seek other routes beyond the map area shown here
• New alignment reduces rush-hour congestion in the Church Street area of downtown Buffalo
• Not expected to increase congestion elsewhere because new alignment offers a broader, more distributed range of options for downtown traffic to enter and exit the highway via South Park Ave., I-190, and Exchange St.
• Exchange Street plays a key role in carrying traffic between the new NY Route 5 alignment and downtown Buffalo. This role depends partly on Exchange Street’s westward continuation as Upper and Lower Terrace
o Exchange Street is well-suited to the additional traffic load because its four lanes (2 in each direction) are generally underutilized
o Exchange Street is grade-separated from four important cross-flows of traffic (Oak and Elm arterial ramps, Michigan Avenue, and Louisiana St.), thus allowing traffic on Exchange to flow freely, with no intervening cross streets, from Washington St. to the point immediately beyond Louisiana Street where Exchange intersects with the new NY Route 5 alignment.
• Flow diagrams at right show where peak-hour traffic removed from Skyway will go• This analysis reviews traffic flow through a dozen key nodes (traffic signals – see
example at right) in the downtown area and traffic density on I-190 through the downtown area
• Peak-hour traffic analysis is more appropriate than average daily traffic analysis for purposes of assessing congestion
4. TRAFFIC: ACCOMMODATING ACCESS
Handling 1532 inbound (AM) peak-hour vehicles removed from Skyway
Handling 1275 outbound (PM) peak-hour vehicles removed from Skyway
Future traffic:Model runs for year 2050 show minimal change in traffic (daily demand) on the Skyway if it remains in service; likewise minimal change on Exchange St. Such model results support the Route 5 relocation plan. Changes in I-190 traffic through downtown are less clear from the 2050 model runs, which show minimal change in daily demand but a larger change in peak-hour demand. Additional modeling may clarify whetherI-190 can continue to accommodate traffic removed from the Skyway.
Models runs should be applied to the proposed shift of traffic from the Skyway to the new Route 5 alignment – for both current & future.
Climate change, the range of possible government responses, and other trends create a very large uncertainty in future traffic levels.
